Confusing Situation, Difficult Choices
by DisneyXDVIcTORIousClockwork36
Summary: When Jack's parents get divorced, high school suddenly becomes more complicated. He has to figure out which one of his best friends he cares about as more than a friend.SLASH JACKXJERRY!DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ! Read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

I woke up to my alarm clock beeping in my ear. Looking at the time, I realized that if I didn't get ready for school soon, I was gonna be late. Jumping out of bed, I threw on a pair of jeans laying on my floor, and hopped down the stairs into the kitchen. I in no way expected the sight that greeted me.

My mom and dad were sitting across from each other at the table, that was normal, it was the fact that they both had tense expressions on their faces and refused to look at the other.

My dad, Drew, was staring at the newspaper as if it was the mot interesting thing in the world. Alternating between staring at the paper and taking a bite of his breakfast, the page of the paper was never turned.

My mom, Tammy, was holding her current reading book so close to her face that I could tell from where I was standing that she was cross-eyed. Every few seconds, she would pick up her coffee mug and take a sip.

Usually in the morning, my family was up and about. My mom would be at the stove with a pan of bacon snapping in front of her. My dad would be talking to her about random things that i never cared to pay attention to. My little brother Thomas would be eating cereal at the table while watching cartoons from the tv across the room.

After staring at the scene for a little while, I decided to make myself noticed. Clearing my throat, the first thing out of my mouth was, "Morning, where's Thomas?"

"Upstairs, he's sick with the flu," my mom said and went back to staring cross-eyed at her book.

Walking to he toaster, which was right next to the stove, I noticed the time. 'Crap, I only have ten minutes to get to school!'

"Bye Mom, Dad!" I shouted as I ran out the door as quick as I could.

I was only a few feet from the doors when the bell rang. Walking in with my head hung dejectedly, I trekked through the halls to my homeroom.

Mr. Messier, the science teacher, looked up as I opened the door. "Tardy," he announced. 'As if i didn't already know that,' I thought.

I walked slowly to my seat in the back of the classroom. As soon as I sat down, the bell rang for first period. Following the crowd of kids out the room and into the hallway, I found my friends somewhere on the way to math class.

"Hey," they announced simultaneously.

"Hey," I responded.

"What's wrong with you today?" Eddy asked.

"Nothing. Just that my parents are acting weird today and I ended up late to homeroom." I sighed.

"That sucks, man," Jerry laughed.

I glared up at him.

"Soooo...," Kim decided to try and break the awkward silence.

"Well, I'm gonna go to class now," Milton said.

"Bye," we all chorused.

Pretty soon, all of us had dispersed to our classes. The day continued to drag by slowly. Finally it was last period. I could get out of here. 'But what's gonna greet me when i walk through the door?' I thought.

Te bell eventually rang. I was the first one out of my seat and out the door.

The walk home was boring. The only thing i had to entertain myself was my own thoughts, and i didn't really want to sort through them.

Opening the door, i suppose I should have expected what i saw. My parents were doing the same thing they were doing this morning, with the obvious exceptions.

"Well, hello Jack," my mom stated then looked up at me.

My dad nodded his head slightly at me.

Both of my parents looked at each other with steely eyes and nodded.

"We would like to call a family meeting. With just the three of us," my dad said tersely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

_Previously in Chapter 1:_

_Both of my parents looked at each other with steely eyes and nodded._

_"We would like to call a family meeting. With just the three of us," my dad said tersely._

Chapter 2:

"What about Thomas?" I asked.

"Thomas can stay upstairs. I don't think he needs to hear this," my mom said quickly.

They got up and started to walk to the kitchen. They didn't look back so I guess they expected me to follow them.

In the kitchen, we all sat down at the table. "Your mother and I want to get a divorce," my father stated bluntly.

I couldn't get it through my head. My brain tried to process the information that it had just received. When I could finally pay attention to the world around me, I looked at both my parents. They were staring at me expectantly.

"Why?" The first word that came out of my mouth being the exact same one that kept floating around in my head.

"Your father told me some interesting information last night and things have been really tense since then. I don't know if I can accept it," My mother stated quietly.

"What did Dad tell you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Your father is...gay. Honey, your father is gay." she stated awkwardly.

"But why does that matter? You taught us that sexuality doesn't matter as long as you're with the person you love," I was so confused.

"Your mother and I decided that divorce would be better than staying together. We wouldn't want you and your brother to suffer through arguments that are bound to happen." Well that made sense but why so soon.

"Why so soon, though?" I had so many more questions that I knew I didn't have time to ask.

"Like I said, we didn't want to put you guys through anything, your brother doesn't need to judge either of us by his memory of our ruined marriage," my dad said nervously.

"Okay," I had no clue what else to say. Their reasoning made sense. Plus, if I accepted it now then I could try to understand it later without the awkwardness. "But what are you going to tell Thomas?" I highly doubt that my 7 year old brother would understand what gay meant, despite being told that it was okay his entire life.

"We'll just tell him that things aren't working out between us," my mom said calmly.

"Okay. When are you going to file the papers then?" I wasn't completely ignorant on stuff like this. A few kids that I used to talk to at my old school ha parents that went through the same thing, though I doubt it was because of the same circumstances.

"Tomorrow. While you guys are in school, we're going to go to the lawyer's office," all this was said with an air of confidence, which I wasn't so sure was real or not.

"Got it. So is one of you going to move out right away or are both of you going to wait till the papers are filed and done with to sort everything out?" I had to know how soon I would have to make a choice, if I had to at all.

"I don't know yet. But this is a lot to process, so thanks for not flipping out about it," my mom said soothingly.

"Welcome. I'm gonna go to bed. Night," I rushed up the stairs, hoping that the faster I went to sleep, the more this would become a dream.

When I woke up in the morning after a dreamless sleep, I changed as slowly as possible. When I went to the kitchen and the same scene from yesterday greeted me, I knew it wasn't a dream.

Pouring a bowl of cereal, shoveling it down as fast as possible without choking, and running out the door so fast that anything passed looked like a blur, I continued on my way to school. Sometime during the walk, the thought that today was Friday finally hit me. 'Thank god it's Friday, I can go to the dojo after school,' I thought.

I was, surprisingly, really early today. Seeing my friends in a corner, I tried to avoid them but as I walked by, Kim noticed me and called out my name, making the rest of them turn around.

"Jack," Kim yelled from where she was standing. The rest of the guys turned, saw me and patted me on the shoulder one by one.

"So did you find out what was wrong with your parents?" Eddie asked after a few tense minutes.

"Yeah. They ummm...they're gonna get a divorce," I muttered, stumbling over the words, while staring interested at my sneakers.

After some time, the silence became too much to handle. I looked up, only to be surprised by the looks I was receiving...


	3. Chapter 3

**CS,DC Chapter 3:**

**A/N: I would like to give. My brother credit for the ending. he helped me when I had a short writers block. Any scene that insinuates a couple, don't think of it like that. I can't decide if I want KICK or JackxJerry. thanks. Longest chapter yet! 2,125 wordFirsts gifts chap was 662, second was somewhere around 800.**

Previously on Chapter 2:  
_"So did you find out what was wrong with your parents?" Eddie asked after a few tense minutes._  
_"Yeah. They ummm...they wanna get a divorce," I muttered, stumbling over the words, while staring interested at my sneakers._  
_After some time, the silence became to much to handle. I looked up, only to be surprised by the looks I was receiving..._  
Chapter 3:  
Looking up at my friends faces, I saw that all of them were concerned, which had surprised me because I had expected some scorn. Kim was the picture of complete shock. So, when I turned to look at Jerry, my best friend, who was standing next to me and not in front of me, he pulled me into a tight, bone-crushing hug. For some reason, I felt completely and utterly safe in his arms. Without warning, tears started running down my cheeks and I clung to his shirt desperately right before my body started to shake with sobs. He started rubbing soothing circles on my back and eventually I calmed down and stopped crying.  
"Sorry," I said embarrassed after I had let go of Jerry and took a few steps back. I had been holding it in since they had told me. I didn't want them to rethink their choice because of me breaking down. But, I had actually been calm about it before. I hadn't had enough time to process it completely so I didn't have enough time to even think about breaking down. But, Jerry's hug had somehow broke through all the confusion and made it distress.  
"Did they tell you why?" Jerry asked.  
"No," I lied. If they didn't hate me for my parents choice, then one of them was bound to hate me for my father being gay. I had never asked if any of them were homophobic before because it never mattered before. Plus, I still had to sort through everything I had been told. I didn't want to say something and then regret it later.  
"That sucks, man. Did they tell you when they're gonna file the papers?" Milton asked.  
"Yeah. I asked them that. They're going to get them filed today," I answered in a monotone voice.  
"How are they going to tell Thomas?" Kim asked. She had been over my house enough to have been introduced to my little brother.  
"When I asked them that, they said they were just gonna tell him that it's not working out, gently," I answered.  
With that conversation, we all went our separate ways.  
The rest of the day flew by. With the thoughts swimming around in my head, I couldn't even think about concentrating on anything. I was the first person out of my chair and out the door.  
Rushing at my locker to avoid my friends, who i knew would try to talk to me about my day, and running out the front doors of the school to the dojo.  
When I got to the dojo, it was unlocked, walking in, I saw no one there, which meant that Rudy was either in his office or at Falafel Phil's.  
Deciding that it was safe to do what I wanted, I went to curl up in the corner where the mats are stored. This left me alone with only my thoughts for comfort.  
When Rudy came back, the bell above the door rang and shook me out of my thoughts. I tried staying silent so he wouldn't notice me, but when he walked to his office, he walked by the extra mats.  
"Jack?" he questioned when he saw the tear tracks on my face. I tried fruitlessly to wipe them away. "Jack, what's wrong?" he asked.  
"Nothing," I murmured.  
"C'mon something has to be wr-," Rudy was interrupted by the phone in his office ringing. "I'll be right back, don't move." I didn't plan on it. It wasn't like I had anything better to do than sit here wallowing in my own misery.  
Rudy came back ten minutes later. "Alright Jack, can you tell me what's wrong now? And don't evade the question," he said firmly.  
'So this is one of the moments where he's actually serious' I thought. 'Of course he's serious. He walked in here to fond one of his students crying. He cares about all of his students and that includes you' my conscience supplied. Well, better tell him now before he asks the others and they tell him the truth. No use in lying. "Well, you see, Rudy, my parents are...I didn't know how to say it. "They're getting a divorce. I found out last night," not noticing the fresh tears rolling down my cheeks.  
"That sucks, buddy. How 'bout we practice. You can pretend the dummy is all of your demons. Then we can have a practice match. What do ya say?" I knew he was trying to encourage me to do something other than brood, and, surprisingly enough, it worked. The thought of practicing, especially beating down on my inner demons made me perk up a little.  
"Why not." When I stood up, I was surprised to see Rudy holding his arms put as if inviting me to hug him. I took the invitation. The warmth his arms held almost made me breakdown like I had earlier with Jerry. Instead, I ended up clinging to his shirt tightly. In a few minutes, my legs gave out and Rudy slowly sank down to the floor, still holding me, my head buried in his chest.  
Eventually, I brought my self out of his arms. "You ready now, Jack?" Rudy asked, holding me at arms length.  
"Yeah," looking down, ashamed.  
"Hey, look at me," he used his index finger to lift my chin up so I had no choice but to look him in the eye. "Everyone has the right to be hurt over things, to breakdown. Growing up, I had only my mother. She always told me that my deadbeat father walked out a few months after I was born. Look at it like this, you still have both your parents. Yeah, maybe they are separating, but both of them are still here, and both of them care about you," he said comfortingly. "Now let's get practicing."  
"Okay. Where's the dummy?" I asked quickly, searching the room frantically for one.  
"Calm down. They're right here, okay," Rudy said calmly and put the dummy in front of me. "Now punch it like it's the thing you hate most in the world," as soon as those words were said, the head of the dummy was flying across the room and into the locker.  
"Do you feel better now?" Rudy asked me as I stood there, leaning over and panting, despite the previous action involving zero to none exertion.  
"Yeah, I actually do Rudy. Thank you," I said sincerely. Rudy came over to me and patted me on the shoulder. "No problem. That's what friends do right," he said, grinning widely at me. Next thing I knew, Rudy came up to me with a flying sidekick. The battle had begun. We continued to spar for about a half hour until the rest of the gang walked in.  
"Hey Jack," they chirped in unison.  
"Hey guys," I waved at them.  
Practice continued for another two hours. Everyone did their own thing. Each member if the gang left a few minutes after the dojo closed.  
Making it home, I was happy to see that my parents didn't wait up for me, despite me not telling them that I was going to the dojo after school.

Later the next day, I found myself hiding in the supply closet during lunch. Some Black Dragon in my fifth period class kept making comments to some kid about his parents.  
FLASHBACK  
I was sitting in the corner of the room in my assigned seat, listening to music. Yet, I wasn't really hearing the music. With headphones in, people left me alone. If i'm gonna wear headphones, why not listen to music. Okay, back to the story.  
I was sitting in my seat, trying to sort out my thoughts, not that I wanted to, but I figured it would help me. Suppressing your emotions is never a good thing, I knew that. But, I was finally solving my problems.  
Hearing a kid scream something, probably a comeback, I thought as I looked up and saw one of Frank's cronies that I had never bothered to learn the name of. Let's call him Thing 1. I took out my headphones so I could hear the rest of the argument.  
"Who's this, your deadbeat mother?" Thing 1 questioned the poor kid who looked ready to cry.  
"NO! My mother would never leave me!" the kid, Ashton, I think his name was, cried.  
"What about your father than? Did he hate you so much that he ran away from both you and your mother?" The poor kid was ready to break down now.  
By now I couldn't stand to watch. Bullying a kid and using their parents as bait was just plain cruel. Parents should be treasured. They take care of us day in and day out. But I guess the saying 'You don't know what you have until it's gone' is true. I stood up and walked over to the area where a small crowd had formed around bully and victim.  
"Hey," I said, shoving my way through the wave of people. Thing 1 turned to look at me.  
"Oh, hey Jack," the crony looked up and said casually as if we were the best of friends and talking about the weather.  
All I remember after that was looking at him with such loathing, and next thing I knew I was attacking the crony. Now, I didn't beat him up THAT bad, just a little bruise, but him being the wimp he is, ran to the nurses office. I then walked out of the classroom with a smug look on my face after defending some kid I didn't even know.  
END FLASHBACK  
'I hope he doesn't mention me, I have enough problems now as it is,' I thought. Well, I haven't heard my name on the announcements yet, so that must mean I'm safe.  
After that thought, I let my thoughts wander. Almost all of them revolved around what had happened the past few days. Some were about my friends and their reactions, especially Rudy's. another big portion of my thoughts was centered around the breakdowns I had had. One when Jerry hugged me and the other when Rudy hugged me. What was confusing was the fact that I had felt warm and safe in both of their arms.  
The question of Rudy's hug was pretty easy to answer if you think about it. I mean, I see him how often, how many times a week? I guess somewhere during that span of time since I had joined the dojo, I must've subconsciously started to think of Rudy as somewhat of a father figure, despite already having a dad. The thing that I COULDN'T figure out was why I had felt safe wrapped in Jerry's arms. His strong arms. Wait, where the heck did that thought come from? Whatever. Anyway, back to more important things.  
Why had I felt safe in Jerry's arms? That was the hard part. Maybe it was because if the close bond between me and him. There's no chance that I could possibly LIKE Jerry, I like Kim, right? Plus, I've never expressed any interest in the identical gender, always the opposite gender. It's all so confusing. I need time to understand what's going on with me.  
Another thought soon struck me. Why did it matter what gender my father preferred? Not every argument they had had to involve my dads sexuality. The only reason a divorce would be needed was if my dad had a lover, or partner, other than my mom.  
Letting myself process what logic had just figured out, one thought came to mind. 'Dad wouldn't cheat on Mom, would he?'  
In my heart, I truly believed that my father was and still is loyal to my mother.  
Thinking about it logically, it seemed like a plausible reason. The only reason, really.  
For the next few minutes, my thoughts kept running through other reasons, with no luck.  
The sound of the door opening cut through my thoughts. I looked up into the hazel eyes of my archenemy...


	4. Chapter 4

A/N 3,410 words! Yay! Sorry for the long wait, it took a while to write this with lot of writers block along the way. I give my brother credit for parts of the chapter. He has been helping me out with certain details. Enjoy!

CS,DC Chapter 4:

_Previously in Chapter 3:_

_The sound of the door opening cut through my thoughts. I looked up into the hazel eyes of my archenemy..._

Chapter 4:  
Frank Bickle. The bully of the school. Yes, his last name is Bickle. The entire school found out last year due to an announcement from the main office. Everyone laughed at him for days until he beat up some kid that he had never even bothered to notice before.

Anyway, back to reality. Frank was staring if I was something foreign. At first, I was confused about this. Then I took my phone out to see why. I had dried tear tracks running down my cheeks. When I turned back to Frank with a panicked look on my face, he laughed so loud, it caught the attention of the other kids that were loitering the hallway.

"Look Frank, I'm not in the mood right now, can it wait till later? You know, when I can kick your butt," I sighed, agitated, not able to summon the energy to be cocky like usual. Once out of the closet, I shoved past him. I walked away as fast as I could. I knew that even if I wanted to avoid Frank, he wouldn't want to leave me alone. This put me on my guard. Guess it was the right thing to do, because when I had only taken about 12 steps down the hall and was near the end of the hallway, a fist came whizzing past my shoulder. Sticking out my hand to catch the accelerating fist, I turned around so I was facing my current opponent.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," came my signature catch phrase, without the cockiness, once I turned to look him in the eye. The thought if dighting Frank seemed appealing for a minute, until the thought of the detentions that I would be given as punishment sunk in.

I threw Frank's fist out of my hand and started to quickly walk down the hallway to my next class, which was conveniently on the way past the cafeteria. Making it to the cafeteria, I sneaked a look in. There was no one there. Walking quietly in, I went to the fruit basket and picked up the apple that was placed on the top. Then running out of the cafeteria to my next class, I made it right before the bell rang.

"One more time, Mr. Brewer, and you've got detention," Mr. Davenport, my tech teacher, scolded.

"Yes, sir, it won't happen again, I promise," I muttered and continued to my seat which was, conveniently, in the back of the room.

?/!.$/&,!:)&/&:?.$.&:!

The rest of the day went by with minimal problems. Frank would say stuff to me and he eventually realized that I wasn't gonna retaliate when I ignored him.

Walking out of the schools front doors, I saw my friends waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, dude, where were you during lunch? And you missed music," Eddie asked concernedly.

"I...had to sort out some things," I reluctantly said, twirling my fingers in my shirt nervously.

"Okay," Milton said, though I could tell that none of them believed me.  
Kim, always the hero, broke the awkwardness and said, "so, who's ready to go home?"

We all agreed and started to walk home together. Pretty soon it was only me and Kim. We walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.  
When we got to my house, Kim and I said goodbye and she continued to her house, which was only a few blocks from mine.

Walking in the house after staring at the door for what felt like hours but was actually minutes, I quickly ran up the stairs to my room. The atmosphere in the house had been tense since the revelation and I refused to get sucked into it.

A FEW WEEKS LATER

It was a Saturday and I was sitting on my bed listening to music and playing Subway Surfers on my iPhone 5. Suddenly, I got a text from Kim. It said:

_Last minute practice. Come quick. Rudy's being serious today._

Quickly packing up my duffel bag, I ran down the stairs and out the door, screaming, "going to karate practice, see you guys later," on the way.

Making it to the dojo in record time, I looked at the time and realized that, despite running as fast as I could, it had still taken me 15 minutes to get there. Sighing heavily, I continued to walk through the courtyard to the dojo.  
Finally making it to the doors, I hesitated. If I opened them and went in, I risked the chance of getting yelled at, which I had heard enough of in the past weeks. If I stayed outside, I was only going to be interrogated by Rudy the next time I saw him.

Coming to a decision, I cracked open the door slowly, watching to see if anybody noticed me. No one did. With the doors completely open, I had no choice but to venture the rest of the way in.

Rudy turned around when he heard me drop my bag on the bench. "Jack, where have you been, practice started a half hour ago!" Rudy continued to reprimand me and his voice continually got louder.

The yelling and loud voices had made me back away. I was used to getting yelled at, but I had never expected my sensei to be the one to initiate those kind of actions. I notices that Rudy started to wave his hands around. Whenever they came near me, I would flinch away. Rudy didn't seem to notice, but my friends did. They watched in fear and concern as I slowly backed myself into a corner. Rudy seemed to be in his own world.

After a few minutes, Rudy had stopped yelling and started to become aware of what was happening around him. It took a few minutes until the scene in front of him seemed to sink in. When it had, his look of confusion had turned into a look of horror. Rudy went to move his hand up to his mouth and I somehow managed to cringe and flinch at the same time. Realizing what reactions his quick hand motions were causing, he suddenly went very tense.  
When he moved again, he kneeled down and slowly crawled over to the corner where I was curled in on myself.

"Hey, Jack, i'm really sorry, can you forgive me? I didn't know that yelling would make you react like that. Please, please forgive me. I didn't know. I'm so so sorry," Rudy kept pleading with me, begging me to forgive him. I had to, I mean, it's not like he knew I would react like that. He had done the same thing to me a few months before and I had just apologized and got ready for practice. But, things had changed since then.

My parents had become more distant. They yelled more. And one time my mom had 'accidentally', quotes because I still haven't figured out if she had meant it or not, hit me. She hasn't done anything since then, so i'm assuming she was clear minded when the action was committed. My dad never found out about the little 'incident', and he has never laid a hand on me in anger. Don't get me wrong, he still yells at me a lot, but he's never assaulted me.

I knew that I had to forgive Rudy or he would never forgive himself. Either way he wouldn't, but it would be easier to convince him that it really wasn't his fault if I forgave him.

"It's okay, Rudy. You didn't know. And truthfully, i'm sort of glad that it happened," this last part earned me some strange looks from my friends, especially Kim and Jerry. I could understand their confusion. I had been telling them practically every detail of my complicated life these past few weeks. But I hadn't told them about the incident with my mom. At that moment, Tip-Tip came out of Rudy's office. The tabby cat walked up to me and sat on my lap. I absentmindedly pet her and continued on with my explanation.

"A few months ago something happened. And if this hadn't happened, I never would have told you guys. My mom she...she...," I stammered, "she hit me and I still don't know if she meant it or not. She's pretty much been avoiding me since then. I still don't know what I did. My parents have been yelling a lot more, too. That's why I flipped out like that, Rudy. I'm used to my parents yelling, I guess I just never expected you to be the one who would yell at me like that or about something like lateness. Lately, I don't know what's gonna set my parents off. Any little thing I do that they see as wrong, I get yelled at. When you started to yell at me, it really surprised me and I didn't know how to react. I guess everything just came back to me and I let my instincts take over. Can we get back to practice now that you know the basics?" I asked, eager to get away from the topic of my hectic home life.  
"Yeah, we can, and i'm really sorry. I know you forgive me, but I still feel guilty about it," Rudy rambled. To shut him up, I pulled him into a hug. He finally stopped talking and put his arms around me. I lent into him, soaking up the comfort that seemed almost foreign, as I hadn't had a hug like this from my parents in years. When we separated, I looked over to Kim and Jerry.

They were whispering to each other in the corner. Both of them gave me a meaningful look filled with...was that... hurt? And curiosity. I nodded to them and asked Rudy if I could use his office to talk with Jerry and Kim.

IN RUDY'S OFFICE  
I plopped down on Rudy's couch while my two best friends sat on his desk. I closed my eyes, threw my head back, and sighed. I knew the interrogation was about to begin. 3...2...1...

"Why didn't you tell us Jack, we could have helped you!" and many more comments similar to the first were aimed at me.

"Okay, okay," I shouted and both of them shut up. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry about me more than you usually do. And how could you have helped me?! It had already happened, there's nothing you can do to change what happened," all of this was said sharply and angrily. The tone of my voice made them reel back in shock.

"Okay, sorry, I guess we just got so used to helping you sort out issues that it's become habit. But still, why didn't you tell us?" Kim said, hanging her head, and looked up at me with gentle pushing in her eyes. She really wanted me to tell her.

"Okay, i'll tell you guys. Well, it was last week, Thursday, and my mom wanted me to get Thomas for something. So, I went up to get him. He was playing on his XBox and when I told him that mom wanted him, he said he would be there in a minute. I said okay and went back downstairs to tell her that he was coming. When I got down there without Thomas, she started to yell at me. This wasn't anything new. It was all both of my parents had been doing since they told me. What surprised me was when she threw her hand up and slapped me. I flinched and backed away, and by the time I was over the shock of what had just happened, she was sitting on the couch watching her TV show like nothing had happened. I was gonna call one of you, but after thinking about it, I realized that you probably didn't want to be bothered about stuff like that. And don't lecture me, I wasn't thinking straight and by the time I was, it was like a forgotten memory. So I didn't mean not to tell you guys,"I muttered the last part.

"Okay," Jerry said and both of them seemed to accept what I had just said.  
We walked out of Rudy's office together and went to change into our Gi's. practice continued, and for once he dojo was completely quiet.

After practice, I went to my locker and slowly took everything I needed out of it. Kim and the gang noticed how slow I was packing and they walked up to me.

"Dude, what's wrong? You never pack this slow. Are you anxious about going home?" Eddie asked, his hand resting lightly on my shoulder.  
"Maybe. I guess. I don't know," I snapped out the last part. Everyone backed away slightly except for Kim and Jerry. I guess I had never bothered to notice before, but they were my rocks during this confusing time. Both offered me support and comfort. And a shoulder to cry on when I didn't know what to say and the only way for me to let out my pent up emotions was to sob into either of them. I moved to the bench and put my head into my hands. I sighed before continuing. "Yeah, I am nervous to go home. My parents want me to make a decision and the choice could affect me for a long time," I took a deep breath before continuing, both Jerry's and Kim's hand on my shoulder showing their unwavering support, giving me the confidence to continue with what I was saying, "my parents want me to decide who I want to live with. And my dad bought and apartment about a mile away from the current house, so no matter who I pick, I don't have to move," came my quiet explanation.

"What's the big deal about that? Whoever you choose, you don't have to move. You still get to see both of them," Milton said stupidly. (A/N: Milton can be stupid sometime with what he says. Just imagine him doing it now like he did in Meet the McKrupnicks) Eddie looked at him with slight anger in his eyes and Kim looked ready to torture him slowly then break him in half. And finally, Jerry looked ready to flip him to he ground hard then pummel him into unconsciousness. Milton just looked plain oblivious.

Caught off guard by what he said, and gauging everyones reaction, I had, without knowing, pushed my self into the corner in between the lockers and buried my head in my knees. Suddenly, I started sobbing uncontrollably. I heard someone lightly kneeling sown on the side of me. When the mystery person started to talk to me quietly, I recognized the voice as Kim's.

Jerry's P.O.V. (Not gonna happen much more)

When Milton asked his stupid, oh so stupid question, Kim and I watched Jack carefully and slowly shuffle himself into the corner. We looked at each other, concern reflecting in both our eyes.

We started a silent conversation. Jack didn't need to hear this, even if he was distracted for the moment. After sometime, it was decided that Kim would go to calm Jack down, as I was all out pissed that Milton had even thought to ask that, and I knew how to answer it, not Kim.

As Kim went over to Jack, we all turned to watch. The other guys were surprised at what was going on. Jack was supposed to be the fearless leader if he dojo, the one who got us through it all and was always confident. One thing they didn't know, and never needed to figure out, as I assume that if I were to ever spill it, Jack would karate chop me into the ground, no matter how fragile his mental state and emotions, was all of the breakdowns Jack had had the last few weeks. Me and Kim always helped him. We weren't gonna leave him sitting there while he broke down crying in front if us.  
We all watched Kim kneel down beside Jack and start talking to him soothingly while caressing his palm with her thumb. If there was anything we had learned in the past few weeks that Jack didn't tell us himself, it was that petting his hair is one of the ways to calm him down. Another thing that calmed him down just as quick, was rubbing circles on his hand, back, and rubbing up and down his arms.

The guys watched amazed as Jack calmed down in a matter of minutes. He looked up shyly at Kim, not noticing us staring at him. Good. Kim just smiled lightly at him. Great. Now that Jack is calmed down, I can confront Milton. I hadn't wanted to while Jack was panicking cause I didn't want to startle him more than he already was. Now to Milton. This is gonna be fun.

"Milton do you not realize how stupid it was for you to ask that question? What if it was you in that situation? What if you had to choose between your parents, knowing that whatever choice you make is gonna hurt the other parent, regardless," I snapped angrily at Milton. He stared at me in awe. Apparently, they didn't know I could be even remotely smart or feisty, like Kim usually is. But, I had gone through almost the same thing when I was younger. My dad had walked out on me and my mom. I hadn't had a choice then. If I had chosen, I would have picked my mom, but it hurt not being included on the final decision at all, just watching him walk out the door and not look back.

When Milton looked thoroughly told off, I had a sense of satisfaction, despite just telling off my friend. I turned to the corner where I knew Jack and Kim were. Jack had calmed down, but Kim was still rubbing his arm soothingly.  
"Hey, buddy, you okay?" I asked. I wanted to know before I said anything so I knew if I had to watch what I said, even though I knew that I had to do that anyway.

Jack's P.O.V.  
I heard Jerry asking me if I was okay, but I was too tired, physically and emotionally, to answer. Good thing Kim answered for me.

Jerry's P.O.V.  
"Yea. He's fine. The conversation just took a toll on him. He's tired, but once he gets some rest he'll be fine. Why don't you walk him home with me. Carry his bag for him," she said, somewhat demandingly on the last part. But, I would do anything for Jack, so I went to the bench, picked up his bag and went back to the corner. Kim hoisted Jack up so she could support him while they walked. As they got to the doors, I turned around to wave bye to the guys. I saw them quickly turn their heads away and try to make their faces blank. This proved that they had been watching the events and their outcome. I didn't plan on telling Jack, but if they mentioned anything about this to him, I would have no problem beating them senseless.

Back to Jack's P.O.V.  
The walk home was uneventful. I was leaning on Kim a lot, but she didn't seem to mind. When we got to my house, I took my bag from Jerry and walked up the steps. Opening the door, I was greeted by the sight of my parents sitting on the couch as far away from each other as possible. I was still shocked that they managed to be in the same room together. I ran up the stairs to my room and threw the door open, then slowly closed it.  
Some time later I must have fallen asleep cause when I woke up, it was dark outside. I put my head back on my pillow and fell asleep again.

The next morning, before I had even gotten out of bed, my parents were in my room.

"Son, we need to know if you have made your decision yet," my dad said with such seriousness that I had no clue what to do next, never mind say.


End file.
